Evolution or Creation

Thanks for sharing that, dwise1. Wow.

Well, you can always not eat, not drink and be miserable. Then you die sooner. To each his own.That covers life choices. Now let's look at that end game.You talk about death and judgement as if they were equal certainties. They are not.Death is inevitable. Judgement is a rumour.Isn't it interesting that no one who talks about an afterlife lives in one? Everyone who talks about the afterlife does so in this life. Some of them can really chatter on about it. But the instant they pass over to the other side, the moment they would finally get some first-hand experience to relate, they have nothing more to say.You've noticed this, of course.One thing human beings do when faced with something we can't control is we try to bargain. We say things like 'Why couldn't it have been me instead of that person?' or 'Why couldn't it have been that person instead of me?' We ask why something happens on this day of all days and not some other, why this fate and not some other. We talk as if a menu existed somewhere and we were supposed to get a choice.Everyone does this at first. It's an impulse. We talk as if we had leverage. It takes time for the reality to settle in. Sometimes there are no deals to make. Things happen.You know all about this impulse. You like making bargains. Every turn this thread shows you talking of barter and trade.You want to make a deal. But not with us.You talk constantly of approaching death. You weigh the benefits, calculate the odds, choose your alignments. You talk of trading your announced loyalties for wealth or genius or science or atheism.You talk as if you had leverage. You want to deal.Your testimonies on this thread look like efforts to make one last good impression on that unseen critic out there in the hall (is anyone watching?). You're giving him the show you've been told he wants. You play the prophet declaring the gospel 'unto' us, you warn us of impending judgement. You declare your lifelong loyalty to the critic. You mention the worldly goods you never got (is the critic listening?)--then say it doesn't matter, you are happy just to have been a loyal team player all along. That seven-year-old boy wants to score a few more points with the drama teacher before the school play ends.At the same time, he has trouble staying in character. Even as he plays the loyalist, he candidly admits he could 'just as easily' believe something else. He admits his beliefs are 'chosen'--picked up and put on like a costume. Even as the show goes on, he conducts cost-benefit analyses of continuing to play in it.If the critic in the balcony exists as you imagine him, he might prefer a performance with more feeling.____Edited by Archer Opterix, : typo repair.Edited by Archer Opterix, : clarity.Edited by Archer Opterix, : brev.

---

ArcherAll species are transitional.

Too bad then. Until you tell me, you don't know what I would say.You can only nurture your 'chosen belief' about what what I would say. That is a conjecture you have chosen not to test against reality. I choose nothing of the kind.Belief is an automatic, honest response that arises in me when something strikes me as credible. It is a response far less likely to arise in me, I notice, when a proposition seems incredible or insufficiently demonstrated.Can't help it. Just happens that way. It's how belief works.Your beliefs work the same way. Your real beliefs, I mean.One cannot choose to believe. One is convinced or one isn't. Beliefs are those things you feel you know, really know, even when you are alone.One can choose alignments, though. One can choose manifestos and creeds, which can then be regurgitated when one wants to make a ritual declaration of loyalty... No. But God would.He says to tell you that if you make three more testimonies like the one above, he'll throw in a free GPS with that 2007 Nissan pickup.Do you choose to believe God, or not?____Edited by Archer Opterix, : html.Edited by Archer Opterix, : ongoing quest for literary perfection.

---

ArcherAll species are transitional.

A quintessential I Cant statement.Not 'I'd be careful because I might be saying something unjust.' Only 'I'd be careful because someone who can hurt me might get mad.'Everything's a contract. A deal. Say only nice things about Mr Deity and Mr Deity doesn't beat anyone up.___Edited by Archer Opterix, : punctuation.Edited by Archer Opterix, : brev.

---

ArcherAll species are transitional.